Chief justice to look at making courts efficient |25 August 2009

Newly appointed Chief Justice Frederick Egonda-Ntende said this after calling on President James Michel, who assured him of his support in the proposed reforms of the judiciary.

CJ Egonda-Ntende was sworn in before the President on Friday and told all sections of the local media that since he was offered the post he has been studying the situation in Seychelles and trying to find out what causes the inefficiency.

“I understand there are court reports that have not been transcribed for judges to write their judgments for up to eight months, and we have not been able to produce a court report for 10 years,” he said, adding that recording equipment used at the courts is outdated and should be replaced by an electronic or computer-based system. He also said the courts are understaffed.

Mr Michel and the chief justice agreed to continue holding talks on these issues in the future.

Mr Egonda-Ntende said Mr Michel has assured him he is committed to the independence of the judiciary, and the CJ said he is committed to the proposed judicial reforms whose aim is to make all Seychellois feel confident in the judiciary.

“They should be able to come to us and they will find we are independent, impartial and can give timely judgment. I will try to understand the public perception of the courts and improve it, especially if I find it to be negative,” he said.

Mr Egonda-Ntende said he will ensure the judges operate in an independent way. Any cases of suspected corruption will be investigated and, if found to exist, will be dealt with accordingly.

“If there are allegations of wrongdoing in the judiciary, we shall investigate. We would want the public or anybody making the accusations to provide us with details. I am confident there are mechanisms in place to address the wrongdoings,” he said.

He said corruption is one of the things that often undermine the image of the judiciary “so we will be on the lookout to ensure that, if it does exist, we will be able to deal with it within the current mechanism. If the mechanisms are inadequate, we will make proposals aimed at enhancing them for their effectiveness”.

He said he was previously invited to head the commercial court of Rwanda and carry out certain reforms there, but as CJ here he will have the opportunity to deal with the entire judiciary, making use of his capabilities instead of just one of its sections.

Mr Egonda-Ntende said he has in the past used the “continental” system of laws and does not expect to have a problem with the interpretation of the law used here, whether it is based on the English or the French system.

“There are principles of law that are common to all jurisdictions. Applying them is like using a new Act which you are not taught in school,” he added.

“I am a lifelong learner and I look forward to learning and being educated by counsel who are, after all, the ones who will address and tell me what they think the law is and then I’ll decide. If they disagree, they could appeal.”